Alasdair Gray

One of Alasdair Gray's most brilliant creations, Poor Things is a postmodern revision of Frankenstein that replaces the traditional monster with Bella Baxter - a beautiful young erotomaniac brought back to life with the brain of an infant. Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of Bella, but his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for Baxter's creation. The hilarious tale of love and scandal that ensues would be "the whole story" in the hands of a lesser author (which in fact it is, for this account is actually written by Dr. McCandless). For Gray, though, this is only half the story, after which Bella (a.k.a. Victoria McCandless) has her own say in the matter. Satirizing the classic Victorian novel, Poor Things is a hilarious political allegory and a thought-provoking duel between the desires of men and the independence of women, from one of Scotland's most accomplished authors.

With his first collection of short fiction, Unlikely Stories, Mostly, Scottish artist and author Alasdair Gray perfected the blend of visual and verbal elements which has since characterised his work. The book’s dust jacket advertises the cocktail of surreal, macabre and mock-historical writing that readers will find between the covers. Title and author’s name are printed in bold roman type. Next to the author’s name is the image of an “improved duck” (a device invented by Vague McMenamy, protagonist of the story “The Crank that Made the Revolution”, to enhance duck mobility). Arranged around the lettering is a grid of black and white squares. In each one, a winged foetus nestles within the cross-section of a skull. A horizontal strip across the bottom shows a recumbent child attached to a kite, floating over a Chinese city in flames – an image echoed in the story “Five Letters from an Eastern Empire”. On the spine, a naked woman is the object of amorous attention from the legendary beast in the tale “The Comedy of the White Dog”.

This work, originally published in 1981, has been hailed as the most influential Scottish novel of the second half of the 20th century. Its playful narrative techniques convey a profound message, personal and political, about humankind's inability to love and yet our compulsion to go on trying.

This work, originally published in 1981, has been hailed as the most influential Scottish novel of the second half of the 20th century. Its playful narrative techniques convey a profound message, personal and political, about humankind's inability to love and yet our compulsion to go on trying.